UK regulator fines Wayfair £4.8m over one-day offers that did not end
Appliances Direct was also fined over automatic opt-ins to paid extras, and Gold’s Gym over a joining fee missing from the total price shown.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has fined Wayfair £4.8m over one-day offers that did not end when they said they would.
The CMA announced on 14 October that it had fined three businesses £6m for misleading sales tactics. Appliances Direct was fined £1.2m and Gold’s Gym £45,000.
Countdown timers and pre-ticked boxes
The CMA found that Wayfair advertised products on its website through “Daily Deals” and 24-hour “Flash Deals”, alongside countdown timers and messages such as “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”. Many products remained available at the same price or lower after the stated deadline, which it said made the time-limited offer false.
Appliances Direct customers were automatically opted in to paid-for extras: removal and recycling of an old appliance, installation of the new one on delivery, or both, the CMA found. Consumer law requires express agreement before a business charges for optional extras, and pre-ticked boxes and other forms of automatic opt-in are not allowed.
Appliances Direct also ran pop-up countdown banners on some product pages claiming £10 to £25 discounts were available for a limited time, but the CMA found the same codes reappeared over many days.
Appliances Direct must pay about £432,000 in refunds to customers affected by opt-ins between 6 April 2025 and 17 November 2025, an average of £25 each.
Gold’s Gym (UK) Limited runs four gyms in London and, the CMA said, operates independently of Gold’s Gym International.
The CMA found that the company did not include the joining fee in the total price shown for annual and Direct Debit memberships, or showed the total in a way that was unclear and unlikely to be seen. It called the practice illegal.
Gold’s Gym must refund £9,220 to 726 affected customers. Each will get either £50 or £10, depending on the membership they bought.
What customers need to do
The CMA said Appliances Direct and Gold’s Gym will contact affected customers by letter or email and that customers do not need to take any action. Neither its announcement nor the Wayfair case page mentions refunds for Wayfair customers.
All three businesses admitted breaking the law and settled early, earning each a 40% reduction in its fine, the CMA said.
The CMA’s case pages say final infringement notices were given on 29 September to Gold’s Gym (UK) Limited and on 12 October to Wayfair Stores Limited and Buy It Direct Ltd, which trades as Appliances Direct.
Hayley Fletcher, the CMA’s senior director for consumer protection, said people should see “genuine, accurate prices and offers”.
“The time is up for this kind of behaviour,” Fletcher added.
The CMA can fine a business up to 10% of its global turnover, or £300,000 where that is higher.
